The Step Right Up Program!!!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Our goal is to raise $5,000 for the fall program at The Green School in Brooklyn. This will cover the Teaching Artist fees, as well as the materials we need to build a set, make costumes and props, and purchase lighting and audio equipment. Additionally, it may just allow us to provide an extra special opportunity for the kids to see some live, professional theater. Something we’ve always wanted to do with them as we create these productions.

We’re going to raise this money by way of a number of FUN events for you, our community. And to you, Community, we hope you know that you have ABSOLUTELY been the sole reason this program has lasted so long. You are the reason that The Return of Super Ice Wolf, The Legend of the Zombie Curse, Lost Caribbean, Lies II Dream, Moon Changers, Agent Phoenix and The Last Sound exist. That’s so awesome!

During the 2011-2012 school year, we will produce our SIXTH work of original theater with PS 15 and our THIRD with The Green School. Let’s say it again…that’s so awesome!

More information to come, but we assure you, there is lots of fun to be had for a very good cause in the weeks ahead!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Robin Canon has taken over our program over at PS15, check out what she has to report on their semester:

I began teaching with this awesome program last year, and was excited to join Step Right Up again this fall

(at PS15 on the lower east side) for another exciting experience! Our small group of 5th graders were eager

to get started, since they've had the privilege of seeing the SRU 5th grade play the past few years.

We began with improv games and lots of creative movement as an ensemble. The students also began to learn

about what it takes to create and produce a play. Over the next few weeks, we began to share ideas and create

characters to use in our script. They were divided into two groups. Each group had to come up with a specific

character and give as many details about that character as possible. Then they began to write scenes involving

their characters. Their imaginations ran wild! Daryl and I had so much fun watching them brainstorm and practice

working together.

Once the basic script was written, Rob Bryn and I sat down and ironed out the ideas. We had an exciting script full

of Phoenixes, Secret Agents, and Robot Pilgrims! Auditions were held, the play was cast, and rehearsals began. One little boy made the comment, "This is hard...but fun!"

Mary Meyer came in to paint a backdrop with the kids and they loved it! We were very pleased with how well the kids

worked together and the beautiful piece they created. See pictures below. Last week we also made giant pieces of candy and worked on a couple of sparkly trees for the set!

We are entering our final week in the process and are very eager to share such a fun and creative piece with the

audience. Alan Ostroff designed a poster using several drawings from the students, and Clayton Colwell created original music and sound cues for the piece. The students are learning a dance tomorrow and we will be putting the finishing touches on some phoenix costumes and set pieces. Whew! It's been a great 10 weeks and I am really proud of this group and their play, Agent Phoenix!Come check it out!

In October, we started up again at The Green School, a public high school in Bushwick. This is our second program at the school, and coming back in we were met with such an awesome and enthusiastic group of students. Guess we did something right last year! I mean, these kids are choreographing scenes on their own during lunch break and after school and then showing us what they’ve done when we meet up! High school kids! They even came in for the program on Election day and didn’t even have to go to school that day. Gotta love it. They are awing me and inspiring me every time we meet up.

As usual, we spent the first couple of weeks focusing on the art of story telling, and developed what is surely our darkest script to date, THE LAST SOUND. We held auditions, cast the play and started rehearsals. We are proud to announce that today, one week before the show, we made it through the entire script. With just ten weeks to write and produce a show, this is HUGE. This is true testament to the hard work these students are putting into it. Aaaannnd….I won’t ruin the ending, but I will say that Mary got a little teary eyed today!

So, as usual, there are many people to thanks…Big Thanks to JAMES THACHER! He is creating the to-die-for projections that will be part of this show. Also, need to thank Jeremy Davies for spearheading the set construction and the dutiful workers, Mads Lynnerup & Stephanie Levy.

This one’s not to be missed, folks. You can tell just by looking at the flier! There’s a little something for everyone… Post apocalyptic New York City, star crossed lovers, battle scenes, trash can drumming, dark visuals, high drama, Doritos! Can’t wait to share it with you.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

We are just too long long loooong overdue to give you an update from headquarters. And we just can’t believe that next week, the awesome students of the program will be starting to perform their original works.

Here’s how this semester has been made possible…

First things first, at the end of last year, thanks to the amazing Tania Ryalls, we were included in PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ end of the year giving campaign as one of the charities the employees of the firm could give to. We got the news in February that $5,000 was raised from that for us. A MILESTONE for us! We’d never gotten that much money in one big chunk. So THANK YOU TANIA!! And YAY to the generous folks at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Then, in July, we held The FEST. Oh my goodness. Leave it to us to have an OUTDOOR SHOW on the HOTTEST DAY OF THE YEAR!! It was such a wild day, complete with dunk tank madness (thanks to a donation from Ryan Luce!) We raised a couple thousand that we donated to the program. So if you came out, sweated, danced, hung out, laughed, jumped in the dunk tank, sprayed someone with a hose, and SPENT YOUR MONEY and made that day so awesome and memorable, we thank you!!!

And then for the last little push of money we needed, we did a Kickstarter campaign in September and these awesome people donated to us:

Stephanie Levy

Sarah Forbes Keough

Roberta Parachini

Gregor Goldman

Olivia Wyatt

Anthony Mathile

Catherine Virga

Priya Bhatnagar

Meryl Williams

Kate Murrin

James Thacher

Emma KP

Molly Surno

Cally Martin

Nayantara Banerjee

Nora Tennessen

Ralph McGinnis

Dawn Mauberret

Cielle Taaffe

Jenny Rockwell

Allison Nelson

Aaron Harris

Monica Kapoor

Kevin Donahue

Daniel Barry

Angela Lawson

Jesse Carmichael

Sitcom Serf

Lena Ghaleb

Robin Cannon

Lila Marshall

Lori Krauss

Mary Hall

Lisa Levine

Annie Kurtin

Jennifer

Kalim Armstrong

Kendra Brody

Chas & Puja Peruto

Katie Robbins

So there it is. All the people that made this Fall Semester of Step Right Up Possible.We started up in October with us (Mary & Bonnie) teaching the high school program at The Green School and Robin & Daryl teaching the elementary school program at PS 15. This will be our second production at The Green School and our FIFTH production at PS 15. Go us!! Go YOU for being so awesome and supportive!!

Stay tuned for more information about the individual programs this year and the upcoming performances. In the meantime, please keep these dates in mind….

Monday, December 14, 2009

Arts for All's Step Right Up Program provides free arts workshops in New York City's public Schools. Using different story-telling teqniques, we spend approximately ten weeks to create original productions of theater, dance, music and art.

Step Right Up is a full fledged program of Arts for All, Inc., an amazing organization providing New York City’s in-need communities with arts programming for children.

To Donate

Step Right Up is free for the kids, but to be so, relies wholly on your support. Thank you!!!